The
finalists (see the full list here) were
shortlisted from more than 850 English and Chinese-language entries submitted
by international, regional and local media across the region.

Now in
their 20th year, the awards are widely considered the most
prestigious in the Asia Pacific publishing industry and a world-class benchmark
of journalistic best practice.

Participating media competed in 17 categories. These include the
SOPA Award for Public Service Journalism, which replaces the Journalist of the
Year award, to honor outstanding work by both individuals and teams that
represents an exemplary contribution to public service in the region.

The entries
were assessed by a judging panel of more than 100 media professionals,
including journalists, editors and columnists from some of the region's most
influential publications, along with academics from a number of Asia's leading
journalism schools.

The winners
will be named at the SOPA Awards Gala Dinner to be held on June 13 at the Hong Kong Convention and
Exhibition Centre. At the Gala Dinner will be keynote speaker Maria A. Ressa,
former bureau chief in Manila and Jakarta with CNN, and now CEO and Executive
Editor of Rappler, a Philippines-based social news network that connects
factual reporting with public opinion to foster conversation and drive social
change.

SOPA will
also organize workshop
and media tours on June 13 at Facebook,
Google,Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters,
plus the South China Morning Post which in February moved into a new state-of-the-art
office with a newsroom designed for a media organization in the digital age.

"The
finalists selected by the judges have produced content of the highest quality
covering a wide range of issues. Their work underlines the important role
played by journalists in Asia, at a time when press freedom in the region is
under threat," said Cliff Buddle, Chair of the SOPA editorial committee.

Dr. Jeffrey
Timmermans, Associate Professor at The University of Hong Kong's Journalism
& Media Studies Centre and 2018 SOPA Head of Judges paid tribute to the
courage shown by journalists. He said: "The past year's SOPA Awards
entries showed journalists braving arrest to cover the human rights
crisis afflicting the Rohingya, uncovering the underbelly of the Philippines'
'war on drugs', and unravelling the mystery surrounding the death of Kim
Jong-nam, to name just a few examples."

The SOPA
2018 Awards for Editorial Excellence are supported by Facebook and Google (both
are Platinum Sponsors). FleishmanHillard, Media OutReach and High Technology
Printing Group Limited provide SOPA with support respectively on public
relations, newswire and printing services.

Tickets for
the dinner are now available at http://www.sopawards.com. For corporate tables of 12 seats, bookings should be made
through the SOPA Secretariat (contact information below).

About SOPA

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) was founded in 1982 to
champion freedom of the press, promote excellence in journalism and endorse
best practices for all local and regional publishing platforms in the
Asia-Pacific region. SOPA is a not-for-profit organization based in Hong Kong
and representing international, regional and local media companies across Asia.
The Society of Publishers in Asia is also host to the prestigious annual SOPA
Awards for Editorial Excellence, which serve as the world-class benchmark for
quality journalism in the region. www.sopasia.com; SOPA
LinkedIn.

Press release
prepared on behalf of The Society of Publishers in Asia by FleishmanHillard.

Distributed on
behalf of The Society of Publishers in Asia by Media OutReach.